Ascalon

On the edge of the cushions set aside for the duly invited guests of the King, Nova sat with half closed eyes. It was not out of disinterest, far from it. He found the best way to observe was with his eyes closed. The sounds, fidgets, and emotions of the speaker seem to come through all the clearer when he was not trying to focus on a blur. It had not always been that way. In his youth he had been a scout for his pack, the eyes abroad for the reclusive Ausi. What he saw was what the pack saw. But those days were long gone, much like most of his sight, lost in the heroic raid he had grown tired of hearing praised time and time again. He could still see close up; the face of his mate, the smiles of his children. But everything beyond that was a blur. Noise. It was best to block it out when actually tying to listen.

The tale was harrowing, though sadly not too unique for any wolf who's life had been touched by the war, as Nova expected most of the Council had. Still, it was a tragedy, and Nova couldn't help but think of his own family during the wolf's retelling. The strangest part was the culprit of the crime. From the description it sounded like the work of a Kamarian. The Ausi had known plenty of those in his time to have seen several of their tricks first paw. But this particular villain seemed rather adept at their element. It was a shame when talent was wasted on the wicked.

Nova listened to the last pawsteps fade from the room, and respectfully turned towards his King. He opened his eyes to the blur ahead of him, a mark of courtesy to show his attention. As he awaited his words, Nova reflected on how marvelous it was that an Alpha of all Alphas had finally arisen. No more internecine bickering and fighting between the packs. Finally there was a wolf that could lead them together, and most important of all, keep the peace.

Augue & Vesta

It didn't take Vesta long to get bored of the meeting. She wondered why she was summoned to such a meeting. She had read the reports and even had some of her contact looking into the attack. Last she knew there was no connection to her prey, most wolves with any connection to the enemies of old were died, under constant watch, gave up their connection or have gone to ground. There just isn't enough to mount such attack, the few who try to remain active are little more then common bandits and are soon caught or killed.

It wasn't till General Aegue came in that Vesta showed any interest in what was happening. Then as the old wolf started to tell his story she perked up, this wasn't just an other attack. It wasn't even the fact that someone would attack that far into Tenneth territory but the nature of the attack, a connection to the Tenneth and Kamarian. Having fought along side both this hit very close to home. As she listened her blood ran hot, it hadn't ran this hot in years. She got so heated that she started to radiate heat. Her father who had been sitting next to her quietly listing to the meet gently put a paw on Vesta's back and whispered in her ear.

Augue turned his attention to his Alpha, Vermillion and his aid who give an approving nod. "These attacks are tragic but we have weathered far worse then this. For the first time every pack is untied and our world is at peace. We can not, we will not let who ever is behind this destroy all we and the heroes of old have fought so hard to build. We will increase our patrols and harden our supply lines. I'm putting our defense force on full alert, and going to start a quite sweep of our outlying areas. We will do what we can to reassure everyone that they are safe and our peace is still very much intact. We will of course provide what ever aid we can to the other packs. Now with that being said, I do have one last thing, why were the heroes of old, like my daughter and Nova summoned for this meeting? They have already done more then enough for us and deserve to be left in peace." Before anyone has a chance to respond, Vesta speaks up, "Forgive my father. I do not want to be given anything for what I did. I will fight for what is right, I will fight for peace, my pack, my friends and this world to the end of my days. And I promise this, I will find and end this or any other threat. But my father makes a good point. Why summon us when a simple order from my Alpha would have been enough?"

All that were left to listen to Augue's speech were a third of of the Alphas present, all of whom just stared at the Tenneth and his daughter unnervingly.

The atmosphere had suddenly turned frigid.

"Great," A light blue Arlyne wolf in a Bench off to the side of the King's throne spoke, "Another Tenneth loyal only to her pack." Her voice was full of disdain.

Eloin, the Alpha of the Jivantas who had spoken earlier, growled softly, "You are a young Tenneth, and maybe someday, you'll see how immature that statement is, especially since you said it in front of us." Her words weren't as biting as Melisende's but the reason for such words was the same. Both she-wolves were older, and had obviously seen much of the wars as their current personalities did not match the usual description of their packs. They were no longer as friendly or happy go lucky as one would expect.

Throughout this exchange, General Aegus had stayed silent until now. "Leave the young Tenneth alone, and go back to your knitting, Eloin." The Jivanta rolled her eyes, "Just hurry and take your heros before "

He walked toward Nova, Vesta and Augue.

"To answer your last question, the King has a special... mission for the three of you. Follow me."

He led them to the far back of the War room, right through the door that the King went through, waiting for the door to close before he started talking.

"Ahem, for security reasons, we'll have to leave the city." An uncomfortable look crossed his face for a moment before he started trotting up ahead of the group. Minutes after trotting through the palace - which wasn't that big, due it still being mostly under contruction, they exited the King's palace through a secret doorway.

Since the city was still mostly being built, much of the buildings and bustling social activities were being centered between the King's palace and the coast of Maxim Lake. Meaning that no one saw them leaving the city, to trot toward the tree line. "We found it three days ago, the same day that the... attack happened." He started to breathe heavily, "try and keep up." From the way he was panting and lumbering forward now, any wolf could see that General Aegus would be retiring soon... Or killed on the job for being too slow.

*****

Once they were at the tree line, they were met by armed guards. Dimitrois, Tenneth and Canicus. Strong and dangerous wolves.

General Aegus coughed, "What you're about to see is the reason for the Summons, but before you go ahead.." He looked at the three wolves, "I was told that you two-" He looked specifically at Nova and Vesta, "Have had previous experience with this... Anomaly. Before and after the Rebel attack on Prometheus... And during the attack on Rashid and Ixtec. It's partially the reason that the King supported... it's request for you two." Aegus looked at Nova and Vesta. "And it also requested for Durandel, Mydnyte, Fang and Summanus. All of whom who couldn't be here, because, well. No one could find any of them except Durandel who, for personal reasons, couldn't be here."

"And you will meet who requested you in a moment," A younger Tenneth male wolf perked up suddenly. "She was very adamant about who she'd be working with."

Aegus growled, "Hush it, soldier."

The young wolf couldn't stop smiling.

Aegus looked up at the heroes and continued briefing them on the situation. "Now, the general populace thinks that it's these Purists who are attacking and killing settlers. While in reality, it has been these... Shadow wolves. The council has decided to keep this a secret, because of certain reasons. And we have learned what the goal of these Shadow wolves... And who their next targets will be..." He looked down, "We believe the Ausi capitol or Arlyne capitol will be next. And if our info is correct... Then that would mean... Everyone in either capitol would be... decimated. That's the reason you're here." He sighed. "That said, follow me and you will meet... who requested you." He got back up to lead them deeper into the forest.

The forest suddenly started getting unnaturally dark, and if either of the wolves had looked up, they would see the upper branches of the trees were woven to provide a canopy of some sorts. The branches had been so tightly woven, that eventually, not a ray of sunshine shone through the trees. The scenery looked so similar to forest in the far south, Kamarian territory. It was here, in the center of the darkness, was a large overgrown tree with a hollow trunk where the general stopped walking. He looked into the hollow of the trunk, and that's when it... moved.

The mass had been small but once it had started moving, it started to get taller and taller, until it stood.

The dark shape was that of a wolf, but one much, much larger. So much larger that, that one would almost assume it was a god in the flesh. Except... there was no God without eyes, or three tails. No, this was more like a monstrous remaking of wolfkind. On it's head, there was a smooth black metal skull mask over the wolf's face... The details on it were so well defined that whoever made it, must have been very talented... or very mad because while the details of the fangs were incredible, there were no holes for the eyes. It was exactly like a mask meant to blind a wolf in a very torturous manner, because while most Alvan masks only had the upper part of the skull, this one had a lower jaw attached... like it was made so that would never come off.

"Nova, and Vesta..." The large wolf towered over the heroes, no doubt using it's sense of smell to identify the wolves.

"It's been years since we last saw each other," Blue, the she-wolf who had betrayed them years earlier, killing both Blossom and Amarok who were former allies of Nova and Vesta, was standing right in front of them. And not to mention, how she had ambushed and imprisoned them for a week before the battle against Rashid and Ixtec.

---

For weeks, Blue had been wondering how this situation would go down and finally, here she was. Standing in front of wolves who had once trusted her enough to have her fight alongside them. Now, she was someone they probably detested... It would be amazing if they even bothered to stay and listen... and if they didn't... If they don't listen... We can just kill them. Kill them all and destroy everything. Eat all of creation! She let out a large growl, and her whole shape vibrated, flickering like there had been two separate wolves in exactly one spot, like a cell had tried to divide but was unable to. It was over in several seconds, but the soldiers who had been present were now on guard.

While the monster in her argued that this was pointless, deep down, she vaguely remembered how she had helped to set Nova, Khan, Vesta and Summanus free once the battle against Rashid had started years ago. And how she had turned on Sane, the leader of the 28, who had intercepted Nova and Summanus before they could get to Ixtec's prison. Of how she used her shadow kinesis to throw them out of harm's way, leaving her to fight was Sane so they could continue with their mission. That was the last she had seen of them... Until now...

Blue let out a rush of air, "I have difficulty... keeping the Dire wolf in me... under control."

As the group proceeded, Nova begin to feel an unease creep into him. He had come down to Ascalon on the understanding that this was yet another advisory assignment. He and the others had been called in at certain times and combinations to dispense points of wisdom that every wolf seemed to think they had. But they had never been asked to stay longer than a few days. He had intended to join his family in time for the Winter Solstice. As the longest night of winter, it was naturally the most important holiday on the Ausi calendar. And now they were trying to string him along for yet another mission! Why hadn't he just thrown away the letter like Fang apparently had?

The rumor of a capital attack was concerning...especially if it was his homeland. But why did the King think a half blind worn out Ausi would be a better choice than every other wolf he had at his disposal?! Nova couldn't think of any other reason beyond his famous name.

Still, it was good to see Vesta again. He had admired her when they last worked together. Her loyalty to her pack reminded him of his own, even if she was a bit more forceful in showing it. A memory flashed through his mind of their journey to the Vulcans before the factory raid. She had been so enamored by his description of the auroras over Fang Island, that she had almost blasted Blue with a fireball so that Blue would not interrupt the story. Nova had scolded Vesta for that...an action he has long since regretted once Blue had shown her stripes. Vesta would have saved them all a lot of trouble if she had just hit her target that evening.

"Nova, and Vesta...it's been years since we last saw each other."

...

"I have difficulty... keeping the Dire wolf in me... under control."

...no.

Nova looked at the wolf before him in abject disgust. The black blur in front of him was a monstrous corruption of a shewolf he had once thought of as a sister. He didn't even address her as he turned back to the blur of guards.

"If you had any sense you would have slain this demon the moment she showed her face. You want to know who to blame for the attacks? Here she is!" Nova spat, his face a mask of hatred.

He had never felt a more galling sense of bitterness towards any wolf than he had toward Blue. She was a traitor, a deceiver, and a murderer of pups. Whatever halfhearted attempts she had made at penance after the fact could not erase what horrors she had committed. He could not fathom why the King thought that reprieving this demon of her crimes was a lesser evil than whatever rumored danger was supposedly coming. The blood of Amarok, Blossom, and countless others was on her claws.

Augue & Vesta

"Another Tenneth only loyal to her pack." The words angered Vesta greatly, "Of course I'm loyal to my pack. So are all of you. This whole uniting under one Alpha was done because it benefits your pack, nothing more. To act like you are loyal to anything more is a waste of time. At less I was welling to fight along those of other packs. I scarified again and again because I saw a danger that was bigger then just my pack. I fight for everyone you fight less pup." Vesta thought as the general lead them out of the room. How could any question any of their loyalties, have they not proven they care for more then themselves, more then their packs. As for wanting a simple order from her Alpha, well she is a soldier and a simple order sent down the chain would work just fine. She hated being called to these meeting, how could she get anything done when she was always in a meeting. At less she gets to see Nova again.
The two of them may not have always saw eye to eye but he was her friend and as far as she was concerned he was a member of her pack. He always seemed to be a level headed wolf despite everything they went through, he was a wolf you could always rely on. One of her hopes is to one day see the land of his pack, to see the wonders of the Northern isles. She could still remember Nova tell her about his home and how magnificent they sounded. She felt bad that in all her travels with the task force she never made it that far North. Maybe when this was all over the three of them could finally make the trip together.
Just as Vesta was starting to relax she froze. No matter what she did she couldn't get her body to move at all. After a moment it became clear as to why.

"Nova, and Vesta...it's been years since we last saw each other."

...

"I have difficulty... keeping the Dire wolf in me... under control."

Of all things the general could have shown them, he had to show them her. In her task force they gave this wolf the title of target Alpha, with the order to contain it till Vesta could get there to confirm it was her and to kill it herself. Now this abomination stands before her... protected by her pack. "If you had any sense you would have slain this demon the moment she showed her face. You want to know who to blame for the attacks? Here she is!" Nova was right, if anyone was behind such attacks it would be this traitor. Vesta blood ran hotter then it had ever run, so much so that with every breath flames shot from her nose. "She saw you as a sister! Did you know that? Do you care? Out of everyone she choose you! She loved you more then anyone else!" She stopped to let out a heavy fiery sign. "She was so innocent. She was only a pup but had more heart and hope then anyone I have ever met. She deserved this peace more then any of us. BUT NO! You had to betray her! I may not be able to invoke the right of vengeance but I swear, the moment you make your move I will be there to kill you. I swear on the blood of Amarok I will kill you betrayer."

By this point any Tenneth can feel the heat building in Vesta, this type of build up normally leads to one thing. With that much heat the wolf releases on all or nothing powerful attack that leaves the wolf completely burnt out. As soon a Vesta stopped yelling, Augue, who had been following a few steps behind ran up to Vesta. Staring directly into her eyes, "Vesta focus! Control the flame or the flame will consume you. You are stronger then any flame, remember who you are. You a Tenneth, you are my daughter, and most importantly you are a friend." He smacks her across the face with his paw forcing her look at Nova. Vesta lowers her head and starts to focus on controlling her breathing, which seems to help calm her. Augue turns to Blue, "We have never met but I have heard many things about you. You were loved and betrayed those would cared about you. My own daughter would have died to save you. For this I can never forgive you. But if the general and our Alpha thinks you can help, then speak quick and speak true... or I will kill you." Vesta lets out one last soft sign, "I am sorry Nova, Armarok, Mydnyte. Durandel I am truly sorry, were ever you are forgive me." Vesta whispered.

The verdict was clear in seconds.

"If you had any sense you would have slain this demon the moment she showed her face. You want to know who to blame for the attacks? Here she is!"

"She saw you as a sister! Did you know that? Do you care? Out of everyone she choose you! She loved you more then anyone else!"

"She was so innocent. She was only a pup but had more heart and hope then anyone I have ever met. She deserved this peace more then any of us. BUT NO! You had to betray her! I may not be able to invoke the right of vengeance but I swear, the moment you make your move I will be there to kill you. I swear on the blood of Amarok I will kill you betrayer."

Blue didn't feel ashamed or guilty in this moment. All she felt was fear, fear that they wouldn't see the point of what she was doing. That they wouldn't see past their hatred to help her save...

There was a rise in temperature, and it made her go still. She couldn't see Vesta's face, but from the pitch in her voice, she could tell she was angry. How angry? Massively angry, according to Vesta's father who was now speaking. "We have never met but I have heard many things about you. You were loved and betrayed those would cared about you. My own daughter would have died to save you. For this I can never forgive you. But if the general and our Alpha thinks you can help, then speak quick and speak true... or I will kill you."

Blue wanted to laugh at that... death threat, but she covered it with a sigh. "Oh, if you knew what I knew, you would see that death for me would be a mercy."

General Aegus let out a growl, "Ain't that the truth."

Blue curled her lip in disgust, using her body language and expression to show her low opinion of the older wolf. "It was war, and if I remember clearly, everyone had blood on their claws. Some, more so than others."

General Aegus looked away.

In the silence, a young wolf off to the far right of the group spoke up, "Shouldn't we get back to the main reason we're all gathered here?" It was the younger voice, the one who had found her in the cave a week earlier.

Blue turned her head in the direction of the voice, as did the General and his warriors. There was a small pause before the General started talking again, this time, he stayed on topic. "Like I said earlier, the King, requested for your attendance because of your experience with this... thing and it's previous packmates. And so far, over the last few days, we have found the information it provided us with to be true."

He got up, "See for yourself." He opened his mouth and exhaled fire right at Blue.

One would have expected her to flinch or even scream, but no. She didn't flinch at all, didn't even move until it was too late, and-

A hissing sound erupted from the black mass that was Blue, and in the flames, you would see her form become larger, like someone had just dumped black ink all over and it was squirming out of her fur like it was alive. She snarled in discomfort, moving so quick that it looked like she was uncontrollably shaking in one spot.

The surroundings warriors only watched in disgust.

"We've tried to.... kill it once we found out who it used to be. And that's how we found out it was telling the truth." General Aegus turned around, "We've tried various ways to see if any of us, could kill it and all have failed."

Blue, who was now grimacing, no doubt hating the memory of their 'various techniques' snorted, "Our creator wanted us to be better than being mere mortals... so he made us immortal, but at a price. He turned us into monsters so that we could do his bidding, and the rest of my... former packmates had no problem with this. And they're already taking out those packs that would cause trouble for them."

General Aegus then looked at Nova, "And from what we can tell now, they're heading for the Ausi capitol next."

For once, Blue was glad she didn't have her eyes anymore. It spared her from having to look these wolves in the eyes, to face her crimes and see their pain.

"And they're not heading there to see the sights."

"We already sent a regiment to track the 27 dire hybrids and their orders were to track, and attack only if provoked. A couple days earlier, we found what we can only assume is their ashes. And from the tracks that had been left behind, the evidence suggests they had only encountered one of the hybrids... And they all died." The younger voice chirped up again.

"Hush it, Iko." General Aegus snapped. "Another moment of insubordination and I'll have you a sentry duty for a whole moon cycle."

Nova seethed at the impossible situation that he had yet again been forced into. In the past he would have been scornful of Vesta's show of passion, but now he just wished he could express his anger half as well as she could. He was never going to answer another summons to Ascalon again. This King was nothing but a fool if this was the plan he thought of to deal with such rumors.

He didn't doubt the seriousness of the reports. He had seen enough weird things in his previous misadventures to keep a storyteller in business for several lifetimes. Neva City had been attacked before, it could easily be attacked again by this supposed group of immortal wolves. And if the report of the regimental slaughter was to be believed, the additional defenses his father had overseen construction of would only marginally impede their progress. They would have to move quickly in order to muster the garrison and put the vulnerable into the deep ice caves. But even if this whole thing was real, Nova saw ZERO reason to bring Blue and her demon along.

"Vesta and I will warn my pack. You should stay here and learn how to execute this criminal as soon as her information proves false," Nova spat, having no qualms about ordering around wolves of alleged higher rank.

He didn't care how the new government styled them. They asked for him to come, and he would be the one calling the shots. Otherwise this fragile new kingdom could kiss his services goodbye, and to hellfire with the peace. At least in war he could kill the courier who came to take him away from his family to play escort to a murder.

Putting aside her immense hatred for a moment, Vesta could tell how serious the situation is. She didn't believe Blue for a second but with the slaughter a regiment and a possible attack on her friends home, nothing was going to stop her from helping. Still breathing heavy and clearly trying to calm down, she looked at Nova, "Well, I've always wanted to see your home ever since you described it way back when. Guess I finally get to." She gives the best smile she can muster. Turning to her father, "Tell my team at the oasis we have a code Amarok. They'll know what to do. Nova and I will go and warn his pack. You should stay and help the general muster the army and find a way to end this thing. It's ashes have no place here. It may have been my sister flame once but now it's not even worthy of the smallest ember. Nova is brother through and through. His flame burns true and I trust him to carry mine back should I fall. I'll be back when this is over. Take care of the oasis well I'm gone."

She turns back to Nova, but before she can speak Augue speaks up. "Vesta. You carry the last of your mother's flame. I thought I lost you one. Never again. I'm coming with you." He turns to the general, "I'll go with them. Get my daughter's message to the oasis." Turning to Nova and Vesta "We got a long walk ahead of us. We should probably get going." He give a respectful nod to the General, "By you leave sir." Augue and Vesta turn to leave.